Register a death

You must register a death within 5 days. Once the death is registered you can purchase death certificates from the registrar. The registrar will also issue a green form to the funeral director to enable the funeral to take place.

A death has to be registered in the district where it took place. You'll be required to make an appointment to attend the Register office to register the death.

How to register a death

To register a death in the borough of Rochdale:

  1. Who can register a death depends on the circumstances of the death. See who can register a death on GOV.UK
  2. You'll only be able to register the death once the doctor or coroner has emailed us the relevant documentation. Your doctor or the coroner will advise you accordingly.
  3. Phone us using the contact details on this page to make an appointment once you know the documentation has been issued.
  4. We'll confirm your appointment time by email and let you know what information you'll require for your appointment.
  5. Once the death is registered, you can then purchase death certificates.
  6. We will email the required 'green form' to your Funeral Director.  

Phone us on 01706 924784 to make an appointment to register a death

Costs for registering a death

Costs for registering a death include:

  • It's free to register a death.
  • £11 to purchase a standard death certificate at the time of registration. The central government sets the price for certificates.
  • £75 to apply for a correction if you find a mistake on the death certificate after it's signed. Or £90 if the correction needs to be considered by the Registrar General.

You can pay for another copy or a replacement copy of the death certificate at any time after registering. Apply for a copy death certificate.

Telling other organisations about the death 

Tell Us Once is a free service where we help you give the information to the Department for Work and Pensions, they then pass it on to a number of other government departments and local authority services.

Find out more or use the Tell Us Once service